Djokovic gave Nadal a tussle in Rome last week in the semi-finals and Nadal said the Serb will be a threat, despite a season in which he has suffered injury and poor form.

"Novak is one of the best players of our history of this sport," Nadal said.

"My answer is he's not coming back; he's there always. Sometimes when you come back from injuries is difficult to play that well from the beginning, but he played a great event in Rome, and is no doubt one of the candidates to win here."